The Ivanpah solar energy plant in the Mojave Desert. Photo: Garry George

The last time we heard about the Ivanpah solar plant in the Mojave Desert, the news wasn't good. News was that birds were literally being singed in midair by the plant's intense heat. Well, now things look even worse. According to a new report, bird mortality at the site is much higher than previously thought, with an estimated 6,190 birds killed at the site. That marks a more than 70 percent increase from estimates from the previous year.

"It's an unbelievably high number, and we're really alarmed," said Garry George, renewable energy director for Audubon California, to Greenwire this week. "We have a lot of questions about this mortality report."

George referred to the Ivanpah plant as the "Altamont of solar," a reference to the notorious wind development in the Bay Area that has recorded huge numbers of bird kills.